Syracuse, NY - A weekend trip to upstate New York ended with a bang for the Howard Community College Dragons, as they shocked the #2 Onondaga Community College Lazers in an 18-13 upset victory.

The win earned the #5 Dragons a major promotion in the national polls, as they ended the week #2 in the country.

A back-and-forth first quarter saw the Dragons overcome two multi-goal deficits to take a 5-4 lead into the second. Logan Foust (Ellicott City, MD/Mt. Hebron) opened the scoring, while Bobby Pupich (Huntley, IL/Huntley) struck in a man-up situation to tie the contest at 2-2. Lukas Rozon (Ottawa, ON/Citadelle) would give the Dragons their first lead of the day with his first goal of the game, but the Lazers scored twice in less than 30 seconds to retake the lead. Goals from Quinn Brennan (Kingsville, ON/Kingsville District) and Brandon Klopp (Glenelg, MD/Glenelg) gave the Dragons a two-goal advantage into the second period.

Two goals from Bobby Pupich (Huntley, IL/Huntley) and a goal each from Foust and John Stubbs (Catonsville, MD/Boys Latin) gave Howard a 9-7 lead heading into the half. On the other side of the ball, the Dragons defense was doing a phenomenal job of breaking up Lazers attacks. Howard's goalie Lewis Collora (Columbia, MD/Wilde Lake) made 27 saves on the day, and the Dragons capitalized on a lack of substitutes from the Lazers.

Foul trouble in the third quarter allowed Onondaga to retake the lead and extend it, despite goals from Rozon and Stubbs. The Lazers scored on three straight man-up situations, and entering the fourth they trailed only by one. Despite a Pupich goal to extend Howard's lead, the Lazers led 13-12 with eight minutes to go.

William Pesce's (Derwood, MD/Col. Zadok Magruder) goal changed everything. Pesce scored with 8:07 on the clock to tie the game, and the Lazers were dinged with a penalty on the play. On the ensuing possession, Pupich scored his fifth goal of the game to give Howard a lead they wouldn't relinquish. The Dragons opened the floodgates, and goals from Foust, Rozon, and Brennan put the game away for good. The highlight of the match came when Joseph Wolfe (Bristow, VA/Brentsville District) scored his first career goal to the delight of his teammates.

Howard's 18-13 win solidified the Dragons as a legit national powerhouse, and proved to the rest of Region 20 that they are threats to win both the Region title and perhaps more. The Dragons next face Hudson Valley Community College on Friday, March 20 at 6:00 PM.